Mama's Best Beef Stew

There's no mistaking this Mama's Best Beef Stew as a side dish at a ladies luncheon. Served alone or with a slice of Crusty Bread and a winter fruit salad on the side, this decadent, meat and potatoes meal is a sure win!

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes

Servings 5 quarts

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Granulated Garlic
3 pounds Stew Beef Pieces patted dry
3 strips Applewood Thick-cut Bacon
2 whole Yellow Onions diced, medium
6 cloves Fresh Garlic minced
2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 ounces Organic canned Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces Dark Malt Beer ( I used Trader Joe's Stockyard Oatmeal Stout, but any dark malt beer will do)
3 17 ounce boxes Organic Beef Bone Broth
1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme
3 whole Dried Bay Leaves
2 teaspoons Fresh Rosemary chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt
6 medium Organic Red New Potatoes scrubbed, blemishes trimmed, and cut to large bite sized pieces.
4 large Organic Carrots scrubbed. trimmed, and cut diagonally to 1 inch pieces..
2 medium Organic Turnips (optional) rinced, peeled, and cut to bite sized pieces.
3 medium Organic Parsnips rinced, peeled, and cut diagonally to 1 inch pieces.
3 Tablespoons Butter
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
6 Tablespoons Unbleached Flour

Instructions

Combine salt, pepper, and granulated garlic, and season stew meat evenly. Set aside. In a heavy 6 quart or larger dutch oven, fry bacon to crispy. Set cooked bacon aside and chop it fine when cooled. In the same pan, on medium-high heat, use bacon fat and quickly brown the stew meat in several batches. Remove from pan and allow to cool (beef will not be cooked through).
Turn heat down to medium-low. Add olive oil and diced onions to the same pan along with brown bits from the meat, and saute.
When onions are lightly browning and some nearly translucent, add minced garlic, continuing to saute.
Add tomato paste to caramelize in the olive oil, about a minute.
Deglaze the fond from the pan by adding the beer and gently stirring as it simmers. This will cook out the alcohol from the beer leaving just the rich, unique flavors and nutrition of the malt beer.
Add the beef bone broth and finely chopped bacon. Slice browned beef to smaller bite-sized pieces and add to the pot.
Add Worcestershire sauce, sea salt, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Stir and simmer with the lid for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Test meat to be sure it is tender - cook an additional half-hour if necessary.
Add prepped veggies to the pot and gently simmer 25 minutes. In a separate frypan over medium-low heat, make a golden roux using the butter, flour, and black pepper. Melt the butter and whisk the flour and pepper together until bubbling and lightly browning to a golden color. When veggies are nearly done, add the roux to the stew and continue to gently simmer for another 15 minutes.
Enjoy!!

Recipe Notes

Leftovers make excellent freezer meals - this recipe is easy to multiply for your needs. In fact, the pictures are done with my 9 1/2 quart Le Creuset dutch oven and are obviously doubled from the ingredients listed above.

If you are looking for even more delicious nutrition, try adding a handful of fresh baby greens (baby kale and spinach) to your bowl before serving. The hot stew will merely wilt the greens rather than COOK them, giving you exemplary, iron-rich nutrition. Although not pictured, this is my favorite way to serve Mama's Best Beef Stew.